


You've Won

by pumpkin_kitty_kat



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Character Death, Death, Gen, Heavy Angst, Hurt No Comfort, One Shot, POV First Person, Short One Shot, Whump, pairing if you squint really hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:02:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24449299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pumpkin_kitty_kat/pseuds/pumpkin_kitty_kat
Summary: The Hero had won, yet again. So why did he feel so guilty?-A short one shot I wrote for fun. I might consider writing more based around this concept if people want to see it enough, though...? But I've already been working on writing another (very long) LoZ fanfic for months now, so make sure to look out for that if you liked this!
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	You've Won

It was over. I heaved a great sigh as I let the weight of my shield slide off my arm, the metal clattering loudly against the stone floor. Had it always been that heavy? I flinched as the sound rang in my ears, the noise deafening in the silence which had succeeded the storm of conflict. The battle had finally been won. The source of the so-called darkness that plagued the land had been vanquished, and the peace had been restored. So why did I feel so guilty?

“ _ Link _ .” The Princess called out to me, the sound of her heels clicking against the floor. Her footsteps were hurried, yet somehow hesitant, the steps uneven before quickly picking up in speed. I tensed as her hand rested on my shoulder, her touch ever graceful. “Are you alright?”

I gazed numbly at the floor, kneeling over whilst clutching my side with labored breath.  _ Was _ I alright...?

I gulped as I felt the beginning of a sob shake my being, quickly choking down the feeling. I had won the war. Hyrule was saved. There was nothing to  _ worry _ about anymore, nothing to fear. I defeated the monsters that plagued the land. I collected the relics I needed to win. I defeated  _ him- _ the beast. So what was this feeling that gripped my soul?

We both glanced up as we heard a deep, strangled gasp from ahead of us. I tightened my fists as I came eye to eye with  _ him _ , he who refused to leave me in peace, choking on the crimson of his own blood on the cold, stone floor. His golden eyes burned deep into my soul, yet I did not find pain or hatred burning anywhere in that fire. All I found was the strangled defeat and self-recognition of a damaged man. My sword, plunged deep within his gut, pulsated with light as he attempted to speak through his struggle.

“We’re broken... aren’t we?”

I couldn’t hold back my smothered cry as I fell to my knees. Zelda’s face distorted as I collapsed in on myself, unable to stop myself from breaking down in front of her. She didn’t remember. She always had the bliss of being able to forget, of being ignorant. But I remembered. The way we’ve been broken never left my mind; lifetimes of pain and regret and suffering weighing down on my soul. I felt as her arms wrapped themselves around me.

“Link?!” She sounded disconcerted. She tentatively shifted and kneeled down on her dress in order to embrace me. “Link, what’s wrong?”

I desperately clung to her. I opened my mouth to speak, but all that came out were reluctant tears. I couldn’t keep my eyes from locking onto Ganondorf’s as I gazed over her shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” I finally croaked.

“ _ What? _ ” Was Zelda’s only, and immediate, response.

Ganondorf smugly scoffed, before wincing in pain. “Of course you are.” He managed to strangle his words out. “You’ve always been sorry.” Zelda glanced back and forth between us.

I opened my mouth to snarkily respond to his attitude, but the words wouldn’t come. “I started this,” I stated instead.

“... Did I not participate?” His voice sounded breathy, the fight quickly leaving him.

“Link?” Zelda sounded purely bewildered at this juncture, turning her head to try to look at my face.

There was only silence, for a moment, as I thought.

“Do you remember?” I asked, quietly, struggling to get the question out.

More silence.

“I do now.”

More tears.

Zelda carefully, gently rubbed my back as she glanced behind her to look at Ganondorf once more. I couldn’t discern her or Ganondorf’s expression from between the tears and the fact that I had let my head collapse into her shoulder.

But the subtle way in which she tensed said all it needed to.

“Hero,” He sounded more firm, less breathy and tired. I slowly brought my head up to look at him. Behind the slight determination that now shone in his eyes, I could tell he was still just as tired as me. “I’m sorry as well.”

I could easily pinpoint the moment when he finally succumbed to the wound in his abdomen, for it was the same moment in which I lost everything.

But that’s not how history would write it. As far as everyone was concerned, I was victorious. Again. And I would succeed again, the next time. And the time after that, and the time after that. I’d always won, and I’d always win. From the start until the end itself.

So why did I not feel like much of a winner?


End file.
